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CHHAPRA: In a rarest of rare instance of practising the adage of 'work is worship' in real life, a Muslim woman teacher of Saran district engaged classes even on the day of her 'nikah' and 'bidai' (send-off) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Meet Tatahir Fatima, a head teacher at the government primary Urdu school at Lashkaripur village under Lahladpur block of Saran district, about 100km from Patna.

Daughter of Syed Mohammad Imam and Shama Ara, she was to tie the knot on Saturday evening with Syed Zafar of Alamganj, Patna. But heeding the call of duty, she went to school and engaged classes before joining the marriage ceremony.

She took classes again on Sunday (being a Urdu school, it has weekly off on Friday), before she was given a touching, warm send-off (bidai) by her parents and relatives. When contacted, she said, "I didn't like the idea of taking long leave for my marriage as my priority has been to teach my students."

The incident has been widely appreciated and hailed across the district.